Chapter 555: Can't You Go to Madame Padfoot's Tea House?
Chapter 555: Can't You Go to Madame Padfoot's Tea House?
Harry decided to wait for Professor Lupin and Sirius here, while Kyle put away his trunk and left the Shrieking Shack.
He found Cona and the others drinking Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.
"Kyle, did your classes end so early today?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore isn't in the castle today. I came with Sirius," Kyle explained.
"Oh." Cona nodded, "Would you like something to drink? How about an iced Butterbeer?"
"Hmm... I think the Pumpkin Juice at school is pretty good too," Kyle said, glancing at the price and sighing.
"A Butterbeer costs several Sickles. It's too expensive."
Having just borrowed 250 Galleons, his confidence took a hit.
"Huh?" Fred, who was about to pick up a cup, paused. He blinked and looked at Kyle with disbelief, then said, "Ron, where did you get the Polyjuice Potion and Kyle's hair?"
George added, "I suggest you transform back quickly or find a secluded place to hide for a couple of hours. If Kyle finds out, you're as good as dead."
"If you don't want to end up as dragon droppings..."
"...or Mandrake fertilizer..."
"You two really know your younger brother well, but I don't think Ron would be happy about that..."
Kyle glanced at them, "And you're talking about dragon droppings and fertilizer. Do you see me as some heartless Dark Lord in your eyes?"
"I have to say, Ron, your acting skills are impressive. You're really pulling it off," Fred said, convinced that the person before him was Ron in disguise.
"Too bad you got the wrong person," George said, "Kyle always drinks Butterbeer one cup at a time. So, Ron, you should have done your research before coming here."
Kyle looked at the two of them bantering and said irritably, "You two are the fakes. When have I ever poured out Butterbeer?"
"Still not giving up," Fred said, "Then let me ask you, what's in the flowerpot in Kyle's trunk?"
"Mandrake."
"...
"Are you really Kyle?" George asked cautiously.
"Of course," Kyle replied.
Fred scratched his head. "That shouldn't be right..."
Kyle thought Butterbeer was expensive? This was as unbelievable as Ron casually buying a Fire Arrow.
Cona watched as Kyle bantered with the Weasley brothers and said with a smile, "It's fine. I'll treat you to a drink."
She went to the counter and returned with a glass of iced Butterbeer.
"Thanks..." Kyle said, glancing at Fred and George, "Unlike some people, who promised to treat me to Butterbeer after losing a bet, but after just a few years, they've forgotten all about it."
"It's okay. I can treat you to Butterbeer too. You can drink as much as you want..." Cona said with a smile, resting her chin on her hand.
"Alright." Kyle looked at her, "Then I'll take you up on that."
"Mhm."
"You two, don't go too far..." Fred put down his cup in exasperation.
He felt like he had bought a fake at the Three Broomsticks, as the drink inside had a sour and smelly taste.
"I'll buy you ten... no, twenty Butterbeers," George couldn't take it anymore, "Then you can go to Madame Padfoot's Tea House. That's where you should be."
"If you go now, you might even see Cedric and Autumn,"
"No," Kyle replied without hesitation, "That place is small and crowded, and the coffee is as sweet as syrup. It's not worth it at all."
"Mhm, mhm." Cona nodded in agreement.
"Tsk..." George slapped his forehead. He just wanted a glass of Pumpkin Juice, but why was it so difficult?
As they exited the Three Broomsticks, it was already approaching midday. The Weasley brothers made another trip to Zonko's.
Kyle and Cona weren't interested, so they headed back to the castle. Along the way, Kyle told her about the Shrieking Shack.
"Two thousand five hundred Galleons, no wonder you suddenly ran out of money?"
"Actually, there's still some left," Kyle said, "but it's stored in a place that's a bit too secure, and it's quite troublesome to retrieve it."
"Gringotts?"
"No, it's in Niffler's pouch," Kyle said with a wry smile. "Now, it runs away at the sight of me, as if I were its arch-nemesis."
Cona found it amusing.
Of course, Niffler would run away if they tried to take gold coins out of its pouch. "Do you want me to lend you some?"
"No need," Kyle shook his head, "it's just for this short period. After the Triwizard Tournament ends, it will be fine. The champion's prize is one thousand Galleons."
"Are you that confident about winning? What if you lose to Fengrong and Viktor Krum?"
"That's impossible..." Kyle said, "even if it's just for the one thousand Galleon prize, I won't lose."
"Others are competing for honor, but you're only in it for the prize money."
"It's all the same..." Kyle waved his hand dismissively.
As they passed through the school gates and returned to the castle, they saw someone rushing towards them like a whirlwind from a distance.
"You're amazing, Kyle!"
Sirius was delighted, dancing with joy.
"I tried for several months but couldn't convince Moony to stay, but you managed it in just half an hour... I really should have brought you earlier."
"Did you guys discuss this?" Kyle asked.
"What's there to discuss? Of course, I agreed," Sirius said, "I bought this place because of Moony. He once said that the happiest day of his life was when we first completed our Animagus transformation and appeared in the Shrieking Shack."
Sirius paused for a moment, his expression complicated as he continued, "Because werewolves have a hard time finding work, so after graduation, I discussed with James that once we had money, we would buy this place, open a shop, and invite Moony to work here. This way, he could have a decent job and a place to stay."
Sirius paused again, his expression turning complex as he said, "You probably know what happened next. I won't go into details, but it's not too late now.
"I'll go to Gringotts right away to withdraw the money and return those Galleons to you."
As Sirius spoke, he started to rush out, but was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm.
"If you want Lupin to stay, don't do this." Kyle released his hand and shook his head, "Lupin understands your good intentions but won't accept your gift. It's his bottom line... You can think of it as him wanting to maintain his last shred of dignity in front of his friends.
"So he can accept me lending him Galleons but will never accept yours."
"But this is unnecessary," Sirius said, not understanding, "Moony knows that I don't care about this."
"But he does," Kyle shrugged, "I can assure you that once he knows you helped repay the money, he will leave without hesitation."
"Then..." Sirius frowned.
"Don't worry about this," Kyle continued, "you wouldn't think Lupin would leave without this, would you?"
"Impossible," Sirius said firmly, "Moony is the smartest among us. He'll be fine."
"That's good then," Kyle smiled, "what you should do now is think about how to help Lupin. It won't be easy to renovate the Shrieking Shack after it's been abandoned for so long."
(End of Chapter)
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